Yojimbo, one of the original TBP Wise Men, asked me a question about what do I think young people should target as careers. I have spent a great deal of time thinking about this as my kids are entering young adulthood, and I hope their lives are not ones of endless struggle. I am not sure I have an answer for Yojimbo that is anything other than a generic guess, and a wild guess at that, but I will do my best, and I will try to reflect in this article what I have told my kids, and what I believe in general.
I believe that the economic position of the US relative to the rest of the world is going to fall – dramatically. I have previously stated that I do not believe it is possible for 5% of the world’s population to continue to consume 25% of the world’s resources. It simply will not continue. Either the entire world will consume many times more than it does – which will not happen – or the US will consume relatively less. I believe that the US, if it is lucky, may be able to consume perhaps 10 to 15% of the resources, going forward. So in that scenario, standard of living is likely to fall to 40 to 60% of its current position. That will be an unpleasant experience for most.
I believe that the US “middle class” institution is an unsustainable and unrealistic ideal. That hundreds of millions of people can live, by world standards, affluent lifestyles while possessing mediocre intelligence, skills, education and work-ethic is an unrealistic expectation. World competition will see that that scenario does not continue.
I also see the “distribution of wealth” commentary as false. Wealth will continue to accumulate in very few hands. Attempts to prevent it will be destructive – to penalize the best, brightest, and most hard-working in order to benefit the least, dullest, and laziest will have negative affect. That is not to say that steps should be made to prevent a system where upward mobility becomes entirely impossible – in other words, hereditary and class systems need to be dealt with in order to prevent wealth from accumulating via hereditary and class stucture. I believe the nature of skill, ability, work-ethic, etc. will ensure that a huge disparity of wealth exists. The simple fact is that people of average intelligence, skill, and ability or even those at the 80 or 90% mark, are vastly less able than those at the 99% level. The difference is extreme and is marked. People in the top 1% of intelligence are simply capable of reasoning far beyond someone just cracking the top 10%. And if those folks are also hard-working and well-skilled and trained, then they will be vastly more successful in general. And it will not even be close.
I recently went on a tour around a large part of Europe, where I saw unemployment rates for young adults consistently around the 50% level. And that included highly educated individuals. Many of these individuals had targeted careers in what had previously been the blue-chip government sector. Those jobs are no longer available. Nor are law positions, engineering positions, and especially university teaching positions, or positions relating to “liberal studies”. And the European kids do not know what else to do – they are accustomed to a welfare state lifestyle. The ones I spoke to talked bout moving to the welfare states offering the best benefits. Imagine that. Cannot get a job in your own welfare state, so you move to another welfare state where you cannot get a job, but where welfare pays better. Imagine the joy those states will feel, and how long that will last.
So, all of this is just background to what I believe young people should do. What I believe is that the young should not focus on “careers” but rather on skills and abilities and education – the right type of education. They should come to understand what hard-work is, and they should become extremely versatile individuals. They should be part country boy/girl and part computer geek.
– they should take up manual jobs at a reasonably early age, so that they become accustomed to hard-work.
– they should work their way through college so as to avoid education debt, if their parents cannot fully fund college.
– they should study computers, science, mathematics, and have a good English education. In other words, they need to be well educated in the 3 Rs, augmented by science and computer science.
– they need to understand that in order to thrive, they are going to have to compete ruthlessly against not only their countrymen and women, but against the population of the world. They need to understand that only the most capable, most hard-working, most prepared, and most versatile will do well in the coming economy.
– they need to learn fiscal responsibility, and avoid debt at all costs. Instant gratification is something they need to avoid their entire lives.
– they need to ensure that they keep up with technological developments. By this, I do not mean they need to buy every new igadget. I mean they need to understand and keep abreast of what cloud computing is, what 3D printing is and how it may impact business, etc. They need to know not just how to use products, but what tech drives the products.
– I think they need to abandon the idea that they need “a job”. They do not need a job – they need to support themselves. A job is just one way. Their own business is another – as a small business person, an independent contractor, etc. I cringe when folks talk about there being no “jobs”. That is a very limited view of making a living.
– They need to keep their personal lives clean. By that I mean they need to keep out of debt, off drugs, etc. They need to align themselves with people that are hard-working and goal-oriented. Perhaps most importantly they need to find/choose spouses that are on the same page – hard-working, thrifty, dedicated, and versatile. Failure to do this will be disastrous.
As for careers that may be good choices – I do not know. I used to think that medical careers would be stable, but I no longer think that. I think that there will be new jobs/careers coming, but those jobs will require versatile people with excellent tech and communication skills.
And so, in sum, what I think is that in order to have the best chance, young people need to abandon the idea that they are entitled and that life is and should be comfortable. They need to embrace competition, and they need to educate and skill themselves in tech and traditional math, science, and English. I think that they should become accustomed to hard physical work, as there are times that may be required. I believe that skills and abilities will be more useful than choice of career.
As an aside, Yojimbo asked about apprenticeships. Personally, I believe that they will not be especially beneficial. They will provide certain skills, but most will lack much tech (ie computer) training, and a breadth of education/skills will not be available through apprenticeships. Looking at the “old style” apprenticeships – pattern and tool making, auto mechanics, fitter and turners, etc. – many have disappeared or are disappearing. I think that carpenters/plumbers/electricians will still be needed, but I think opportunities may be limited. But I may be wrong.
So, in summary, I believe that young folks need to acquire the mindset of those that lived in the Great Depression – willing to do whatever it takes to survive – augmented by very high skills in math, science, English and tech. And they need to be ruthless competitors – only the most capable will thrive in the coming economy.
I know this is all pretty vague. I do not have a crystal ball, but I believe very hard times are coming, and that the world will be a place vastly different from the one that young people have known to date. For most, they will not be prepared, and they will suffer life-long as a result. What people do by age 25 largely sets their plate for the rest of their lives. I believe that the prepared may actually end up doing very well. I think that those who are prepared for the times that come will eat very well on the carcasses of the sheep that are not.
SSS
Are your eyes going?
Read my comment again.
This post needs more steam.
So: “Don’t have kids!”
Pirate Jo at her computer- 🙂
“This post needs more steam.
So: “Don’t have kids!”
[img]http://ts4.mm.bing.net/th?id=H.4522507306796131&pid=15.1[/img]
Admin is the biggest cheater on this site. I catch him screwing up royally and gently and ever so kindly point out his mistake (gentle and kind are two of my finest attributes). Then, trying to make me look like a fool, he turns around and accuses ME of bad eyesight after he corrects his error by using his editing privileges.
Avalon needs to have a frank talk with her devious husband about his substandard conduct.
I sure hope Llpoh gets to fire a couple people today so he won’t be in a surly mood when he reads his thread tonight.
just when I was feeling guilty for commandeering admin’s xmas message to the monkees, I catch up on this post and find it turned into a major bitch fight, even had llpoh baring his soul on ice.
I have read Billy’s racial comments and understand where he is coming from, but I like his practical posts so I continue to look forward to his comments. I have a lot of respect for the old dogs, damn they really did themselves proud today.
one day I will comment on my own experiences with racism but for now, as Billy might say, ‘stay alert, stay alive’. You never know where death comes from and it won’t matter if you’re dead.
Sensetti – it has been a great thread. Where else but on TBP can you go from talking about jobs to a flame war, Native American history, peace pipe, back to flame war, back to no child policy, etc? Yeah, baby!
SSS – there have always been some folks who tried to do right by the Indians. Their efforts failed every time, best I know. Your examples showed that, too. Jackson in particular was a piece of shit. I appreciate your clarification for historical accuracy.
I guess a couple of people got inked today. Llpoh is in a good mood.
Note to youngsters; Back in the day getting inked meant boss picks up his pen and puts ink to your last paycheck. Today getting inked means a new Tat.
These 24hr Fridays are almost certainly shaving years off my life! Five hours of sleep and I feel worse.
I’m going do my best to respond to your comments Billy. I believe you and I are closer on this subject than you might imagine.
I don’t need a civics lesson on the First Amendment. I have no desire at all to restrict the words you choose but just like yelling FIRE in a crowded theater, there is likely to be a bit of blow back when you start tossing around that “groidle” bullshit etc. That is why so many of us love the TBP so much. It’s holds barred just like life. If you put it out there, then you best be prepared to have it thrown back in your face whether it’s justified or not……..just like reality. No, that’s not a threat nor is it me (or anyone else) spoiling for a fight. Sometimes you’re the windshield, sometimes you’re the bug! (with apologies to Mark Knopfler)
I think part of our problem is that I assume you know more about the nature of TBP. Take the whole apology thing. Hell, I never heard about that until about 5-6 months ago and in retrospect, I had never seen anyone apologize here before. Actually the main alpha dog here got attacked by one of the long time big dogs and shit got kinda personal and nearly resulted in the plug being pulled on TBP. People took their toys and went home and it was touch and go for a bit. Apparently apologies on TBP are a sign of weakness and renders you a pussy. Like I said, not my rule but that is the way it is. No point in tiling against windmills!
Learning the true nature of the place is probably easier the more shitfests there are and there have been damn few shitfests lately. We don’t refer to ourselves as Shit Throwing Monkeys for no reason. I tend to think that the shit fests and STM’s tend to keep the libtard trolls away. Not that anyone intends to exclude them for the sake of exclusion but they tend to have thin skin. I read your description of apprenticeships the other day so I know you understand what I mean when I refer to thin skin.
No Billy, you are not Smokey. (At least I don’t think you are but if you turned out to be the real Smokey masquerading as Billy, it would not surprise me a bit.) Your volatile nature reminds many of Smokey. You should not try to be Smokey either because only Smokey can be Smokey. The guy was/is amazing. He could go from school girl nice to ripping your guts out through your asshole and then rape your wife while you watched before killing your children and then back to school girl nice just that quick. He was loved and hated but mostly I suspect, he is missed. I’m not familiar with the entire history but he apparently had a health issue that may have been terminal. Another theory is that he left the site because he felt his inflammatory nature was hurting admins site and stated purpose. All we know is he lived in SC and he no longer stops visits TBP. If you could take shit from him, you could take shit from anyone. He was like a verbal SEAL instructor and I do believe that in the verbal sense, Smokey could make most SEAL instructors puke their guts out and cry for their mommies inside of five minutes of the first evolution.
I need to go back and read more of your comments to respond to them and I’ll do so in a hasty drive by nature because I have no hope of getting fully caught up. I love my job but it sure interferes with my ability to enjoy TBP in the manner I’d like to. Give me some time and in the meantime, lighten up a bit. You are the apprentice sweeping floors and shoveling shit. That may be your destiny for awhile as your meddle is tested and your weak spots are probed. You gotz week spotz Billy and wez like probin’ them! Or, maybe you’ll take all your toys and go home. Anything can and will happen here.
To be honest with you. My day job is very much like TBP. Our work is stressful and very time/labor intensive. Mentally, it will wipe you the fuck out but most of us act and talk just like we do here on TBP and I gotta say, live and in person is much more fun especially since you get to experience the full range of human communication. Without that ability to cut loose like that, my co-workers and I would likely stroke out from the stress. When you see the butt hurt in their eyes you know you’ve won! After that, you wait until they are in a compromised position, unable to move when you rip ass on their skull and walk away proudly. My boss compares the experience to having a load of e-coli delivered directly to your lungs.
Upper management is generally appalled but our output and quality is so high they limit their visits to once every month or two. I think they’re more mystified and incredulous than appalled but we get quite a bit of latitude. Other divisions within the company don’t even come close to matching our performance.
I_S
Oh yeah, on the choice of language…….I love the English language but clearly I’m no where near being a master of it. Sometimes I’m amazed that I can form a coherent sentence. I have no problem using what is generally considered foul language. I see no point in excluding perfectly useful words because someone somewhere decided they were offensive. I was not included in the discussions that led to those conclusions and exclusions that happened decades before I as born. I am perfectly capable of avoiding those “offensive” words if the setting dictates.
I_S
You know, the fact that Billy cut me some slack a while back really impressed me. Then I see him go after a big dog like I-S with brass knuckles and it reminds me of the Shack/A#1 faceoff where A#1 says, “your fight’s over here”. And it’s not just shit slinging either, these guys are coherent and lucid, it’s like watching a prize fight. Many thanks.
Who ever gave IS the thumbs down three posts above can lick the sweat off my balls.
The big difference between Smokey and Billy is that Smokey was always in control. He did not make up imaginary slights unless he was just having fun. Smokey was a mental giant in addition to being incendiary. Billy tends to lose focus. Smokey never did. And that fucker had a memory like a steel trap. He could recall every word from every thread and use it against his victim. He and I never had a battle, except it came close when I double doppelled him once. I tricked him into kicking shit out of some poor innocent. what fun! Mostly we played tag team on newbies. I hope he is still out there.
Billy, no, I’m not anti humanity. Learn to recognize outrage induced hyperbole. Im generally in a semi-permanent state of outrage these days. The point of my comment was that if humans are going to occupy themselves with race based killing, political driven killing, wars of choice, destruction of our own economies, near total and essentially permanent destruction of our environment via Fukushima and global warming (i’m not 100% on that one) and all the other detrimental shit we do like strip mining the Earth at the fastest rate possible just for the sake of making more profit by selling shit we don’t NEED to each other until there is no available energy to produce more useless shit for more profit, then how are we not a fucking plague on this planet. (damn that was a long sentence) All the other lifeforms on this planet do not deserve to suffer our narcissism and ignorance OR the destruction of our mutual habitat.
I’m not what anyone could call an Environmentalist but I firmly believe that each of us has a personal responsibility to do right by our mutual environment and we should not need militant, birkenstock wearing, asshole Greenies shouting at us to realize this. It’s common fucking sense. Besides that, it’s an insult to my obviously limited intelligence when douchebags like Al Gore go around talking down to us while continuing to live a life of obvious excess with the intent to rob us with some bogus carbon exchange that does nothing for the environment.
If the vast majority of us cannot cobble together enough personal responsibility to do right by those who come three generations from now or 3000 generations from now then fuck it…….burn it down and get it over with. Why not? If reckless abandon is going to be the order of the day then we should have the grace and dignity to bow out and let the so-called lower lifeforms inherit the Earth.
Rather than describing it as anti humanity, I look at it as having little to no faith in humanity to do the right thing. Sure there are exceptions but a few exceptions to the rule will not get us where we need to be.
I have no children by choice and I have quite a few reasons for this. I won’t get into that now but I’m sure it will come up later, perhaps when you scold me for not doing my part to maintain the white race? (That was just a little slap Billy, not an attack) Point is that when it comes to the future beyond about 30 years, I have no skin in the game so perhaps it makes no sense that I even have an opinion on it.
Maybe it’s my inner narcissist but I do want to leave the world as good as or better than I entered it. I have left instructions that none of my assets are to be used for any kind of a traditional funeral, memorial, remembrance or even grave marker. My personal preference is to be rolled into a ditch downwind of the house and call it good. “Buzzards gotta eat, same as worms.”The closest I can come to that is to donate my carcass to a place called the Body Farm in TN so that is what I have done. Yes, I understand funerals are for the living and if the living want to hold a funeral for me they can do it on their own dime. However, when future generations look back I do very much want for them to know that at least a few of us wanted to do something a little more noble than the herd. I;d like for them to know that higher ideals existed and were desired by some but they simply got trampled under foot by greed. I have no doubt they will understand my sentiment.
Perhaps if we drilled the concept of personal responsibility into our students instead of subservience to authority we could get there? I’m not hopeful.
I_S
Billy, regarding the butt hurt and anger you perceive on my part………thank you! My stealth is working! I may get passionate about some of this shit but I am almost always laughing at it. Winding you up and watching you go is fucking hilarious. Ask my wife….she thinks I’m insane when I seemingly bust out laughing for no apparent reason. I probably hang out here as much to amuse myself as anything thing else. Hence the occasional comment by me about this place being a kick in the pants or fun. Seriously, if anyone gets all butt hurt on TBP, they are probably wound too tight.
Very early this morning I was going to rip into admin for his “hell AND a hand basket” fuck up and I even started typing a comment to that effect but sanity kicked in when I remembered that he is a crafty bastard who has access to the switches and levers. I left it alone and SSS fell into the trap (if it was a trap) and got spanked. You never know what you are going to walk into here or what kind of response you’ll get. A comment may elicit no response today but the same comment a day later may get your colon ripped out and fed to you. Good shit and a lot of fun!
I_S
for those just tuning in: I-S elevates the tone of the battle, he is concerned for the future of mankind and the fate of the earth. Billy declines to be shamed into using politically correct language on TBD, what a shocking development. Stay tuned, we may see signs of a concession or will the battle turn heated once more?
…AGREES TO DISAGREE…
…PLANET EARTH SURVIVAL IN QUESTION…
TBP NEWSFLASH
I_S
“Billy, no, I’m not anti humanity. Learn to recognize outrage induced hyperbole. Im generally in a semi-permanent state of outrage these days”
You need to learn to say what you mean and mean what you say. I know what ‘hyperbole’ is, and I think you’re using it as a fig leaf.
“If the vast majority of us cannot cobble together enough personal responsibility to do right by those who come three generations from now or 3000 generations from now then fuck it…….burn it down and get it over with. Why not? If reckless abandon is going to be the order of the day then we should have the grace and dignity to bow out and let the so-called lower lifeforms inherit the Earth.”
I ain’t got time to worry about shit 3000 generations down the road. I’m trying to put together enough resources to save what I got RIGHT NOW. My son? He is the LAST of our line. He MUST survive. Everything I am doing is for him. Even planning an escape route to Europe. Germany, Norway or Finland, whichever is the safest environment. He is a dual national, so he has the right to be there. My idiot siblings were either self-absorbed leftist pieces of shit and didn’t marry or have kids, or they are fucking losers who didn’t marry and have kids. You know what kind of pressure that puts not only on me, but on him?
You’re talking about shit that will happen millennia down the road. I’m worried about shit that’s gonna go down TOMORROW or the next day… whenever the big fucking game gets kicked off. EVERY DAY I worry about ‘what if’… I have to plan every-goddamned-thing around here, from designing and building our greenhouse to figuring how many head of stock we can buy come Spring to if the roof on the barn will last another year to sourcing spare parts for our machinery (because if I’m right, ain’t nobody gonna be making that shit for a long, long time). There’s still a million and one things I have to do around here, and the last thing I need to hear is “humanity sucks – we should all just die”.
Maybe we should. Maybe we will. But today? Right now? I’m gonna fight tooth and nail to protect and provide for me and mine and that’s all I got time for.
War is coming. Anyone with brains can SMELL it coming… The US is gonna go down HARD. It’s gonna be uglier than anything anyone could possibly imagine, even in their worst nightmares. Last time we threw down, there were 600,000 combat deaths. They don’t even try to figure in the deaths from predation, starvation, disease, despair, murder, accidents or suicide.. it’s likely well over a million. Extrapolated today, we’re talking multiples of millions. And that’s just combat deaths. The food chain 150 years ago was simple and linear. Today, the average distance food has to travel to get to us is 1000 miles.
Here. Look at this.
http://afailureofcivility.com/uploads/AFOC_A_Look_Inside_130212.pdf
Go to page 12. See that graph and how complicated our food supply system is? Snip any one of those lines, and the system fails. And any line can be cut for any reason at all… especially during war.
By the way, I own that book. You would do well to obtain a copy and read it cover to cover. Best book for TSHTF I have ever read.
http://afailureofcivility.com/
You not having kids, by choice, is a complete mystery to me. I’m not gonna burn you down for your choice, mostly because I don’t know why you made it.
Body farm? Brother, I will throw you in a woodchipper myself to feed some hogs if you want…
Me personally, I’m going to plant an American Chestnut tree in a corner of our farm. Gonna be buried right there.
It’s late and I’m tired. Will continue this tomorrow.
ROFLMAO! Juan gets it. Maybe I’m not splainin’ it right for Billy. Maybe llpoh can get through.
I don’t hate you Billy. I’m not out to get you. About 95% of what I’ve said to you prior to this evening has been yanking your chain, pullin’ your leg, takin’ the piss, takin’ the mickey, winding you up, havin’ a bit-o-fun. You know, its the childish, immature, verbal sparring that most guys I’ve ever known sort of do with each other instead of “holding each other” while we take turns crying. Except for the nancy boys who literally are reduced to tears in a way that makes even a bad ass feel like a heel. [smiley face] With your (French?)* military background, you FUCKIN” have to be familiar with at least one of those terms. Go check Websters dictionary for the words HYPERBOLE, INNUENDO, HAZING, HORSEPLAY. Apply definition of those words to recent butt hurt experiences on TBP.
*=JOKE! (see Websters)
Unwritten rules exist here Billy. One of them has something to do with apologies on TBP being a sign of weakness. Another is the no nipple rule and yet another is some bullshit about Stucky being the the Official TBP Judge on all matters on an as needed basis. I call horseshit on that even though is always fair and honest, but that does not change the rule. It’s all in FUN Billy and is not intended to drive you to suicide but the beatings will continue.
Stucky is going to drive you insane with doppels some day. That ought to be epic!
Maybe YOU are winding ME up and I”M not gettin’ it?
This place is a hoot!
I_S
Billy said:
“I ain’t got time to worry about shit 3000 generations down the road.”
I also said three…you know up to your own great grand children.
Did you ever think that if all of our ancestors had thought just a little bit beyond their own individual lifetimes that maybe, just fucking maybe we would not be facing the immiment collapse headed our way? Our fucking owners definitely think multi-generational and they come out on top in collapse after collapse.
Those 13 words quoted above represent the single greatest failure of humanity in my opinion. How fucking sad and tragic is it that something so simple as paying it forward can’t be seen as essential?
I suppose it really is better to condemn each subsequent generation to committing all of the same mistakes for eternity since that seems the prevailing wisdom so far. Perhaps the higher road leads to the same destination?
Abandon all hope ye who enter here.
I_S
Billy, I am aware that you have read TBP for some time before commenting, that is standard procedure. When you finally comment, the old dogs take notes. Someone will give you a verbal recommend (that was me). An old dog will begin to circle, he may or may not be the one to vouch for you but you will be given an initial nip, a small bite. If you have the spirit, an old dog will do open battle with you. If you survive, you will get the customary BM. You will then be able to call yourself a full fledged Shit Throwing Monkey. If you later turn out to be an asshole, your membership may be revoked. You can be reinstated but I only know of one such case and, though he claims he never apologized, he had to do some major admissions of guilt. Don’t take this induction so hard Billy, I got beat up by LLPOH and if I ever fuck up, it will be LLPOH who will do the honor of putting me out since he in effect ‘sponsored’ me. I think you are lucky to have drawn I-S to do battle with. SSS would have hounded you for several days until you sought refuge in the arms of sweet death. LLPOH is no picnic either, the fucker can mess with your mind until you don’t know your ass from your neighbor’s ass. If you survive, and I hope you do stick around, welcome, if you leave, there is no shame in that, you will be joining thousands of noobs who couldn’t fucking handle the truth. Godspeed, bro, Sarge.
Yep juan, even bb can get that!
I still have my suspicions that juan is bb or the other way round or maybe you are both Stucky in deep cover. Stucky will sometimes “out’ himself out of sheer stupidity but I’ve got my eye on the situation.
I_S
“If you met me in real life, you’d think I was a nice guy. A bit serious sometimes, and a bit reserved if I don’t know you, but okay in general. I’m suspicious of everyone.”
You basically just described me but I hate that people like me. It’s not that I have a low opinion of myself but I just hate being bothered. The VAST majority of people turn out to be either assholes or annoying as hell. I could be a hermit at the drop of a hate. Reminds me of your fortress of assholitude comments.
“How I conduct myself online is, more or less, how I conduct myself in real life.”
I feel pretty much the same way but I have a big Nakamichi power amp wired in between me and the net. Most of the time it is powered off but sometimes a good tune comes on and you gotta crank it up. I’m pretty honest online as well unless were talking identifiables. I do slip now and then but I have no problem admitting to waking up from surgery earlier this year in a pool of my own feces and sauce with a paralyzed pisser that I was being ordered to put to use despite the fact that there was no urge due to a brand new nerve block meant to last 12 hours.
I am more reserved to help keep the idiots at bay but here on TBP I feel at home as one of many INTJ’s. You remember revealing your personality test results the other day? It was not INTJ as I recall and is a potential future source of ridicule like juan just mentioned. Not that I’d do something like that mind you.
I_S
“It’s a shame you say you don’t have the time to read all the posts that were made due to time constraints… because I destroyed the egalitarians (your) arguments using my bestest table manners and I was looking forward to what you had to say as a rebuttle. Even held my pinkey up while I typed and used the correct fork and everything…”
LOL! I’m working on getting there Billy. I swear all you fuckers are just the intelligent members of the FSA. How you cretins find so much time to post here almost non-stop is beyond me.
If you were to consider the famous quote:
“It is better to remain silent and be thought a fool than to open one’s mouth and remove all doubt.”
I might be able to catch up quicker. Remember, I only have two remaining brain cells.
“Weak spots? Everyone got a weak spot. Nothing new.”
I suppose that your tossing around flippant racist comments does indicate a weak spot I have. Maybe it’s just the way the you do it will mal intent or that air of superiority that pisses me off. In a real fight I’ll be focused on the precision of my knife work between your ribs while I simultaneously shake your hand and grab your wallet before your carcass hits the floor, as opposed to thinking about the ignorance that racism represents. I can think about that while taking a piss to mark my territory after victory. 😐
I’m out as well. Road trip tomorrow.
I_S
IS – I would, and did. I think Billy missed it. I revoked his rights to do any doomsday planning. It is clear he is a noncom, and would be a good steamroller. Point him in the right direction and let him go flatten something. Kinda like the Hulk.
The only thing I take real personally is that the Admin can chap my ass at times, and vice versa. And there are rare occassions when I cannot make the monkeys as a whole see reason, when reason is just there pure and simple to be seen, and that gets up my nose a bit, too.
Billy – juan has offered you some extremely good advice. You have been outplayed by IS because he was just funnin’, and you swallowed the hook. People some value in you, so have not made an effort to run you off (and please spare me the “no one can run me off”. I have seen that more times than I can remember, and they have ALL been run off if I, er, we got serious. We have gotten really good at this game, and you ain’t seen nothing yet. We would work you into a foaming at the mouth lunatic if we put our minds to it. Hell, you gave us enough above to do it – “do not talk about my family”. Hahahahaha! Geez, we would go overtime on yo mama jokes if we did not want you around. Plus, no offence, but we have let the odd bit of stupid fly through to the catcher).
So once again I respectfully suggest you cool it a tad. You can learn lots from folks around here. We have doctors, gun experts, self-made folk, independent folk, chemists, accountants, pilots, plane mechanics, farmers, crop-dusters, spooks (not the kind you refer to), inventors, Romanians, doomsteaders, folks that build their own homes, engineers, etc etc etc around these parts. A safe bet when discussing something with anyone round here is that they are smarter than you or know more than you about the subect. And I kid you fucking not.
IS – Re more or less being the same here as in person, that applies to me as well. That hit home a bit when I took the test for INTJ. As one of my managers said the other day “There is no way I would let you speak to me like that except you are fucking right every time you do it.” That was a result of me throwing a fucking tantrum over his making an $8000 mistake that I caught based on the merest tidbits of info. I caught it before the money disappeared. I said something to the effect of if you had someone working around your house and they screwed up and cost you 8k of your money, how would you like it.
Billy,
Think of it this way:
The Burning Platform is a cumulative experience. You will experience it, it will not experience you.
Where the hell is Stucky?
I_S
llpoh, I think of reason as something that only becomes visible when you’re ready see it.
I fucking hate that I cannot express myself with the clarity you do. I’m certain that we think in very similar ways but the clarity of expression is just not there.
I should look into auditing a writing course or doing one online.
I understand about that expensive shit at work. A single part can cost the better part of ten grand. If it is mishandled in the slightest, it’s trash. We produced a boule this week that is north of three hundred grand and is another record for material yield to the best of our knowledge. Set it down wrong and it’s trash.
I have the uncommon position of being taught by a true master, in all likelihood the only master of this craft. He is a real pleasure to work with but the work is so challenging, the stress is killing me. My jaw in clenched, rt eye is twitching just like Clint Eastwood, ears hurt. I’m wound up like a spring. Most of it is just needless worry. Fact is, I’m doing well, making good decisions, getting good results and only waking the boss up about once a month in the middle of the night. It’s going better than I expected and maybe a tad better than he expected. Unfortunately in my head, the highs are not high enough and the lows are too low. The overall experience is akin to being tutored in guitar playing by the best guitar player you can think of and I worry that I’ll let myself down and squander the opportunity. Of the three people he has taught, only one is still standing and I work with him as well. I’m not a terribly patient person by nature but this job demands it even in moments of mental terror. The boss did say that patience would be the biggest thing I’ll learn in this job. I think there might be more wisdom in that statement that appears on the surface.
I’m really out this time.
I_S
IS – with regard to stress, I handle it less well than I used to.
If I can offer this as advice – you are obviously doing well at your job. I recommended that people do challenging work. It is tremendously personally rewarding. You are doing challenging work. When the stress gets gad, take a step back and ask yourself would you really want to do something easy? Would you really? I doubt it very much. Embrace the challenge. You will be far better for it. Really.
Thank you for your kind words. Better than I deserve.
Billy said another year to sourcing spare parts for our machinery (because if I’m right, ain’t nobody gonna be making that shit for a long, long time). There’s still a million and one things I have to do around here, and the last thing I need to hear is “humanity sucks – we should all just die”.
Billy it appears like we are doing a lot of the same things and see the same picture as to what coming. I use horse drawn equipment and horse’s to solve the problems of breakdowns and parts I can’t get. I just bought another breaking plow a couple weeks back for 100 dollars it’s damn nice and I was excited to find it.
I_S Stuckys prolly taking care of his Mom.
“My son? He is the LAST of our line. He MUST survive. Everything I am doing is for him. Even planning an escape route to Europe. Germany, Norway or Finland, whichever is the safest environment. He is a dual national, so he has the right to be there. My idiot siblings were either self-absorbed leftist pieces of shit and didn’t marry or have kids, or they are fucking losers who didn’t marry and have kids. You know what kind of pressure that puts not only on me, but on him?”
Billy wins the Internet. Why is it every unhinged skinhead thinks the world NEEDS his DNA? Seriously, man – no, seriously! I’ll write you a check right now, just to make more of those brilliant little future scientists and great thinkers. His LINE must SURVIVE! That’s nothing short of hilarious. Total thread win. When I hear this kind of nitwittery, I usually remind them that they are eight strands of DNA removed from a chimp, just like everyone else. But Billy is maybe only five strands removed.
People who don’t get married or have kids are either “self-absorbed leftist pieces of shit” or “fucking losers?” Well what on earth would you call anyone who would reproduce with Billy? I’d call them “passed out drunk.”
P joe says; Well what on earth would you call anyone who would reproduce with Billy? I’d call them “passed out drunk.”
You might call them a survivor, when this Mother fucker crashes and law and order are no more the baddest dudes come out the other side. I will be standing shoulder to shoulder with men that make Billy look mild by comparison, and I like my odds.
PJ look at the aftermath of Katrina if you want a glimpse of your future. Billy will survive that….will you?
Awww, Pirate Jo doesn’t like me…
See, I lay down why it’s important to ME why our bloodline survive, and Pirate Jo comes up with this:
“Why is it every unhinged skinhead thinks the world NEEDS his DNA?”
I didn’t mention anything about ‘the world’. You just did. I mentioned myself and my family and why my son’s survival is important.
But folks with extra Y chromosomes, like Pirate Jo, will make shit up out of thin air then use that to attack me with… nice try, but you fail.
“Well what on earth would you call anyone who would reproduce with Billy?”
My wife married me because I’m fucking rock star handsome, so I’d call her “fortunate”. (BTW, I’ve already said that my wife looks like Anna Torv, so I would also call myself “fortunate”.)
sensetti
You said “Billy it appears like we are doing a lot of the same things and see the same picture as to what coming. I use horse drawn equipment and horse’s to solve the problems of breakdowns and parts I can’t get. I just bought another breaking plow a couple weeks back for 100 dollars it’s damn nice and I was excited to find it.”
I’ve given serious thought to horse drawn equipment. We have Amish around here, as well as Mennonites. There’s plenty of old horse drawn equipment laying around, mostly being used as LAWN DECORATIONS! If you can believe that. I take note of who has what. Not so I can buy it when TSHTF, but so I can go get it when they get burned out or bail out… most equipment that old might look rusty as fuck, but it’s built so well that it’s still serviceable after all these years…
I also note who has horses around here, and what kind. Most are quarter horses, but there’s some cool bloods and cold bloods around… since PETA went bitching to the government, we have a glut of horses up here. You can get a nice quarter horse for about 100 bucks, if not for free.
Thing is, we’re going to be running stock on our land. We have a couple acres dedicated towards food production, but this used to be a horse farm once upon a time. We got lucky, and have a drought proof fish pond fed by an underground stream, so water isn’t an issue.
I’m wanting to get the shop built before Bad Things happen, because then I can make literally anything I wish if I have the raw materials… and all that that implies. Hint hint.
It would be interesting to hook up and compare notes…
Back to the manpile, Billy.
I never realized PJ was so hot. what’s you email, peej?
AWD
That article you posted… that’s about as low as I’ve seen one of them go.
Beating and raping an elderly nun?
Some stuff, even in war, is off limits. You just don’t DO things like that…
@Billy
I will not be looking for trouble or trying to overthrow the Government or any of that shit. I am simply going to shelter in place and be able to live off the electric grid without gasoline until the chaos subsides and the Free Shit Army has thinned itself out. I have the ability to mobilize to a high mountain retreat if necessary. The only smart strategy is to lay low and live to rebuild on the remains of what’s left. I have no other agenda than to protect what’s mine, if they jump my fence, it’s on.
@ Billy re Mennonites and horses
As of the 2010 Stauffer Mennonite Church Directory there is a small settlement of Old Order Mennonites at Elkhorn Ky, 18 families and 34 members. These people are Anabaptists and the young are not baptized until they have reached age of consent, usually 16 or more. The girls usually marry around 20 although they quit school at 14, 8th grade. The married Amish wear beards without a mustache.
At some point when liquid fuels become scarce or prohibitively expensive the survivors will farm with horses as my neighbors do. I live among the largest Stauffer Mennonite District here in Snyder County PA. It takes 3 Belgians (Belgium Draft horses) to pull a single blade moldboard plough through soft non organic depleted soil. A young Belgian costa $3000.
Billy says:
“AWD
Are you ready for “cultural enrichment”?”
Gulp. I hope we are not going to see some white supremacist literature, I said before, it is seductive but in the end all it does is fill one with hatred. You think i didn’t hear that shit growing up? Activist Mexicans hating blacks and fomenting war on whites? I’m like I-S in that i grew up with a mixed race environment and was surprised to learn how different the world really is. I’m a fucking pacifist, yes, we are in a cultural war zone, no, I do not want to use the ‘offense is the best defense’ strategy.
sensetti
Roughly the same thing here – be as “grey” as possible, lay low, hunker in the bunker and if we get gooks in the wire, then game on.
Difference is, I got nowhere else to go. The wife and son have a Plan B, but I’m too stubborn to be moved.
If it comes to it, I will burn this place to the ground – every stick and stone, I swear. They will get nothing at the cost of everything…
@ juan
” I hope we are not going to see some white supremacist literature”
Please. Give me SOME credit.
I’m a separatist. Not a supremacist. I’d be happy as a motherfucker if we just zoned off different areas for each group. Live and let live, without interference from any other group.
But, that’s a pipe dream… and I know it.
“Activist Mexicans hating blacks and fomenting war on whites?”
They made no secret of their plans or their feelings. I was aware of this a long time ago – all one has to do is look at the raw footage of the marches and protests and speeches on Youtube. It’s amazing what you find out when you watch raw footage instead of the sanitized and skewed nightly news.
“I’m like I-S in that i grew up with a mixed race environment and was surprised to learn how different the world really is. I’m a fucking pacifist, yes, we are in a cultural war zone, no, I do not want to use the ‘offense is the best defense’ strategy.”
You make your decisions and you have to live with them. It’s the way things are. I can’t tell you what you should do or how you should live… not my place to. I can only wish you luck and fortune.
@ Roy
That… is good to know.
Belgians are a breed not seen very often down this way. Like I said, mostly thoroughbreds.
I’m actively looking for a way to run the tractor and our truck on 100% ethanol. Which is a great waste of sippin whiskey, but if you’ve got nothing else. I can make as much ethanol as I am able, and the technology isn’t new or innovative – the only thing I really have to worry about is excess water after combustion. There’s a guy that runs a shop near us… okay, 25 miles south of us, but around here that is ‘near’… guy is a mechanical Jedi Master, especially when it comes to carburetted engines. He’s sourcing the parts needed to convert the truck to ethanol, which I will put away until needed.
Ford made the 8N shortly after WWII, when fuel was still being rationed. They made propane versions, kerosene versions, ethanol versions and gasoline versions… even if I have to custom make the parts, it can be done. Kerosene is nothing but coal oil, and Kentucky has thousands of years worth of coal. We’ll be okay.
Worst comes to worst, I can use mules or oxen…
Billy if your gonna use a tractor buy or make a still so you can make your own fuel.
Check it out– http://www.coppermoonshinestills.com/id42.html
sensetti
Thanks much for the link. I came across that guy a year or so ago… I think I got him saved off in my favorites. Good to see he’s still in business (hah! Get it? STILL in business?)
From what I can tell, he makes good shit. The way it’s supposed to be made. Thing is, if you’re gonna use ethanol for fuel, you have to get rid of as much water as you possibly can. Get as close to 100% ethanol as you can. And you’ll still face a water problem after combustion, since combustion yields carbon dioxide and water…
C2H5OH (l) + 3 O2 (g) → 2 CO2 (g) + 3 H2O (liq)
Your truck or tractor might not run as efficiently as it would with regular gasoline, but it will RUN, which beats a blank in my book. In my mind, it’s a matter of getting parts that were designed for ethanol and retrofitting, getting the jetting right and how to deal with the water generated after combustion… not insurmountable problems.
Billy says:
“I’m a separatist. Not a supremacist. I’d be happy as a motherfucker if we just zoned off different areas for each group. Live and let live, without interference from any other group.”
we haven’t heard from ‘the Cynic” in a while. he described the situation here in the Antelope Valley, used to be a largely white community, then sometime during the housing boom of the late ’80’s, developers started selling homes to the latino community. the next housing boom in the mid oughts, we saw blacks selling their homes in Compton to buy cheaper housing in the AV. So, there you go, anywhere someone can make a buck they will and never ask you if you’re OK with it.
Then again, it is an inescapable fact of life here in SoCal. Uncle David came here from El Paso in the 60’s. He moved to Alhambra and a local Mexican there commented to him, well, looks like they are coming in from the rancho. I had the same feeling when the LA pukes started moving here but what can I do, move farther north to Cal City, oops, they beat me there, I’d have to go to Trona which is hotter than hell.
Why not use methanol? Too hard to make? I know that most carburetted engines will run perfectly fine with only an increase in jet size.
I_S
In my little corner of paradise, I doubt that an all out race war will take place. If it comes to that, a handful of drunk redneck Idabilly’s (back woods hillbillies from Idaho) will take out most blacks (1.8% of county pop) in less than a day. Actually a number of white supremacist groups inhabit the area so the Idabilly’s won’t really get a chance. The Mexican population is bigger (4.9% of county pop) but they are still vastly outnumbered by whites at 90.2% of county pop. The rest of the county population is a scant mix of Asian and indigenous Americans.
Race crime seems to be primarily limited to young people and usually involves some element of gang related shit out of SoCal involving drugs during the warmer months. It is a growing problem but expect things to go haywire before it becomes a significant threat.
I’m far more worried about white FSA but if you poor bastards in the south and east coast lose the race war, it could get ugly up here. I expect the eastern seaboard and southern half of the continental USA population to be reduced by about half inside of a year after commencement of full blown, race based hostilities. First by race/FSA wars then disease and starvation. The survivors will probably be begging to be moved to FEMA camps to escape the misery.
I_S
Billy, if there are any specific points you made that you would like a response to, post them in a new message and I’ll get on it.
I_S
Billy says: sensetti “Thanks much for the link. I came across that guy a year or so ago… I think I got him saved off in my favorites. Good to see he’s still in business (hah! Get it? STILL in business?) From what I can tell, he makes good shit”
He lives down the road piece from me, yes, he makes the very best, top shelf.
I_S
“Why not use methanol? Too hard to make? I know that most carburetted engines will run perfectly fine with only an increase in jet size.”
Methanol, or wood alcohol? I’ve never studied how to make it.
However, in this part of the country, ethanol (aka “sippin whiskey”) has been made since the Scots/Irish first got here back in the 1700’s. It’s stupid simple to make, as you can use any growing plant that has sugars and/or starches to make it. Ethanol made from potatoes (vodka) is chemically identical to ethanol made with corn (Bourbon). It functions as medicine, money, fuel, recreational drink, solvent, cleaner, etc… I will admit I have a knowledge deficiency when it comes to wood alcohol, which is why I shy away from it.
It IS possible, but I have to do appropriate research to see how simply it can be made before I go investing in the time and equipment.
Some things people will need, and will pay through the nose to get. (Lengthy discussion on smokeless, non-corrosive gunpowder, primers, BP, ethanol, methanol, etc, has been redacted for obvious reasons…)
I_S
“I’m far more worried about white FSA but if you poor bastards in the south and east coast lose the race war, it could get ugly up here. I expect the eastern seaboard and southern half of the continental USA population to be reduced by about half inside of a year after commencement of full blown, race based hostilities. First by race/FSA wars then disease and starvation.”
The Northeast, with the exceptions of New Dumpshire, Maine and perhaps Vermont (if they can get their shit together) is lost. So is Mordor. I’m not going to go state by state (because I’m not familiar enough with the local demographics of other states/Commonwealths), but Kentucky will fare reasonably well. Louisville will be lost temporarily. Northern Kentucky hotly contested due to the close proximity of Cincinnati and it’s large populations of FSA/blacks. Unless they get desperate enough to blockade/blow the bridges.
Tennessee will be a disaster. I expect we will see thousands of refugees flooding into southern Kentucky. North Georgia will be okay, but anything within 25 miles of Atlanta will be Injun Territory. W.Va. will be okay, as will Eastern Ky. and Eastern Tn. Mountain folk get picked on more than is warranted, but they’re tough as an old boot and they have home field advantage.
Western Virginia to the Blue Ridge will be okay, but will have problems once Mordor goes down. They’ll probably shoot straight down the I-95 corridor… I expect we’ll see some refugees coming in via Pikeville. Everything north of Ky/Va/W.Va., I’m just going to write off. Just like everything south of Atlanta. Including the southern half of Florida.
Past that, I have no idea what will happen. They might hold the cities, but we hold everything else. Cities are not self sustaining and have to be constantly attended, like hothouse flowers. Stop the food/fuel/water/etc, and they will wither and die quickly.
“The survivors will probably be begging to be moved to FEMA camps to escape the misery.”
Perhaps. But the mettle of the people around here says otherwise. Most could get along with varying degrees of difficulty, but I don’t know anyone who trusts FEMA (or any other government agency) enough to rely on them. The city dwellers might have to as a last resort.
All of this is pure speculation. The only thing we can really do is wait… wait and see what events take place, then react to them. We’ll probably get out asses handed to us early on, until we figure out what the hell it is we’re supposed to be doing… just like every other time.
Billy, that map may be a bit misleading. It shows my county as “multiethnic” which is true but all other races together make up less than 10% of the pop.
I think my wife and I chose well in selecting the NW as our home after returning from Europe. In terms of a potential race war, we’ll probably sit that one out while the military will likely be deployed to the most affected areas. Should be rather quiet and peaceful in the early going but I’m not betting on it.
In my own area I live on the southern edge of a largish town in one of the oldest and best neighborhoods. Most residents occupy the homes they own. The primary FSA areas are on the opposite side of town and there is miles of ground to cover in between and it is literally up hill ALL the way. To the south is a sheer cliff of several hundred feet and well over a hundred miles of loess covered, rolling farmland. Beyond that is Hells Canyon and the Blue mountains. There is a desert to the west and the foothills of the Rockies to the east.
Refugees may become a bigger problem than FSA or minorities.
I_S